auctions for eggs, etc

Call me a skeptic but breeders of swine use to go to each other's sales and buy each other's stock to drive prices up. Breeder A would go and buy 2-$20,000 gilts from breeder B, then breeder B would go to breeder A's auction and buy 1-$40,000 boar. By doing that you drove up the prices and got a lot of "free" publicity as everyone would talk about the sale prices. Plus the farmer went home and told everyone he bought the brother of the boar that brought $40,000. Meanwhile he paid $1000 for an animal that was probably worth $200-$400.